Old money and true wealth could care less about clothes. These guys are wearing old faded levis that are 10 years old with an old polo shirt. You would be hard pressed to find these guys spending 300 for jeans unless that have a major love for fashion or work in the business. They never feel like they have to prove their wealth with expensive clothes. You are more likely to see people at the low-low mid end of the socioeconomic spectrum spending crazy money on clothes

I mostly agree. People at the top of the lower class feel that being perceived as middle class is within their grasp. And people at the bottom of the middle class are constantly fearful they could easily slip down and be perceived as lower class. Thus people in this general group are the most likely to be concerned with the appearance of status. I read a study a few years back confirming this. It showed that this lower (but not poor) income group spends more on clothing (as a percentage of their budget) than any other group. The study compared things like amount spend on clothing vs. other necessities such as food, housing, transportation, etc.

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Originally Posted by pebblegrain

would be cool if it were true but its not. rich people tend to spend more on their clothes

You're right, rich people do spend more on clothing. But they spend far less on clothing than do lower income families relative to the other basic necessities. Thus it is likely that lower income people are more concerned about expressing status through their clothing than are the rich. In this sense I'd say they value clothing more-- a far more interesting point of discussion than talking about whom spends the most in absolute dollars.

Also, come on, dude. You know that's not true. Fashion comes from poor people and the military, not well-known designers. By the time you're drooling over it, it's filtered up through the poor kids, through the 'cool hunters', then, when it's a dead thing, aped by every imaginative designer label.

I mostly agree. People at the top of the lower class feel that being perceived as middle class is within their grasp. And people at the bottom of the middle class are constantly fearful they could easily slip down and be perceived as lower class. Thus people in this general group are the most likely to be concerned with the appearance of status. I read a study a few years back confirming this. It showed that this lower (but not poor) income group spends more on clothing (as a percentage of their budget) than any other group. The study compared things like amount spend on clothing vs. other necessities such as food, housing, transportation, etc. You're right, rich people do spend more on clothing. But they spend far less on clothing than do lower income families relative to the other basic necessities. Thus it is likely that lower income people are more concerned about expressing status through their clothing than are the rich. In this sense I'd say they value clothing more-- a far more interesting point of discussion than talking about whom spends the most in absolute dollars.

why tell me you read a study and then not link it? you think i'm too poor for jstor? ebscohost? sciencedirect? real class is being able to read studies and then link to them. gimme dat doi nigga.

I think there is some understating of the influence of the rich, as aristocratic styles have always been aped. That said, peasant revolutionaries came up with the trouser (although noted British dandy Beau Brummell popularized it), jeans were carried around the world by sailors, miners and stevedores transform the top half of the union suit into the t-shirt, and so on.

...peasant revolutionaries came up with the trouser (although noted British dandy Beau Brummell popularized it), jeans were carried around the world by sailors, miners and stevedores transform the top half of the union suit into the t-shirt, and so on.

Reginald, could you, or anyone, recommend a good history of -type book on the subject? Sort of a hidden why we wear what we wear kind of affair?

I think there is some understating of the influence of the rich, as aristocratic styles have always been aped. That said, peasant revolutionaries came up with the trouser (although noted British dandy Beau Brummell popularized it), jeans were carried around the world by sailors, miners and stevedores transform the top half of the union suit into the t-shirt, and so on.

pants (really, knit ones) might have been invented before peasants existed. they were definitely popular among germanic "barbarian" tribes that attacked rome because romans wrote about them. unless you're talking about the wool type of pants people wear today in which case i know nothing.

In his autobiography The Kid Stays In the Picture, producer Robert Evans reveals how his brother's company, Evan-Picone, convinced a nation of women to start wearing pants. (At first it must have seemed as weird as men wearing dresses...)

Now I don't know about you, but it's just that kind of renegade spirit I see in Vineyard Vines.

still waiting for OP to make his presence felt again, lurking in the shadows

I have no idea what to say, I'm not following all this drama and fighting. I'm waiting for the rest of Vineyard Vines' new line to come out before I chime back in to get more opinions, but as of now, I'm bored with their winter line.

From the little drama I have read, don't you all fit into the category of lower middle class trying to buy nice things so you appear closer to the upper middle class? Do any of you own atleast 1 home without a mortgage?

This fight here is about old and new money, societal class, and how the rest of the world perceives you. If you are broke but want nice clothes, say it. Dont try to be someone you aren't by posting extravagant things you don't have on forums like this one.

I'm typing from my iPhone so once I get to my computer I'll edit/fix/add to this post.